The Dante’s Inferno
Category: Videogames
EA Details Brutal Legend DLC, Hammer of Infinite Fate
Double Fine’s excellent Brutal Legend
The Hammer of Infinite Fate pack allows players to upgrade Eddie Riggs with three new outfits including the Mountain Man, Black Metal and Zaulia Threads, as well as seven more back patches to slay the tainted coil in style. Eddie’s trusted hotrod, The Deuce (aka The Druid Plow), will also get a face lift with four brand new paint jobs and four more upgrades that players can purchase including the Oculus of the Lost, an all-seeing GPS for the world, and the Eye of Sorrow, a weapon that harnesses the power of the Sea of Black Tears and launches black projectiles of doom at enemies, in addition to The Disgorger and the Coiling Maw.
Players will also be able to unlock 9 new achievements and trophies in Brütal Legend which are based on the latest additions of the Hammer of Infinite Fate expansion pack. Mount Rockmore will also see six more heads for players to purchase and unlock, including Rima, Razputin, Dadbat, Hunter, Kage the Kannonier and Tim Schafer himself.
Any of you buying this DLC? As a Double Fine fan, I plan on supporting the company.
Today’s Poll: What’s Your Real Life D&D Alignment?
In keeping with the role-playing theme of Coffee Talk #43, I wanted to see which Dungeons & Dragons alignment describes you best. Make a choice and if you have time, elaborate in the comments section. I’m going to have to give my answer some thought….
[poll id=”14″]
Yoshitaka Amano’s Take on Final Fantasy XIII
Here’s a fantastic illustration by legendary artist Yoshitaka Amano, best known as the original artist and character designer for the Final Fantasy series. As some of you know, Tetsuya Nomura has been handling art for many of Square Enix’s games, including FFXIII
Phoenix Wright WiiWare Japanese Trailer
Here’s a sneak peak at the upcoming Phoenix Wright game for WiiWare. It looks like fun…unless you happen to be a member of the goofy Japanese family playing the game in the trailer. If that’s the case, you’re probably busy looking for ways to run away from home or slip hemlock into the family’s beverages.
Coffee Talk #43: Do You Actually Role Play in RPGs?
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the NY Yankees closing in on Curtis Granderson, the potentially awesome Google Goggles, or WWE Chris Masters’ dancing pectoral muscles, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Halfway through my fifth play through of Dragon Age: Origins, I was vexed. You see, I originally intended to play this round as a rogue, with assassin and bard specializations. A stealthy, backstabbing rogue with the passive assassin benefits and bard song buffs seemed like a great idea. When my character hit level 14, I couldn’t press the button to activate the bard specialization. A rogue that hid in shadows, backstabbed, and burst into song just didn’t make sense.
Some of my friends play games solely to win and would have added the bard specialization in a flash. I prefer to get lost in adventures and make decisions I like or make sense to me. I guess that’s why I don’t enjoy playing games as evil characters. In this case, my preference for role playing prevented me from playing as a singing assassin. (What do assassins sing anyway? Show tunes?) The thought of a stealthy rogue emerging from the shadows to suddenly backstab an enemy and burst into song sounds…it sounds…it actually sounds frickin’ hilarious. Crap. I should have hit the bard button.
Anyway, I wanted to see how you handle role-playing situations like the one I described. Do you opt for whatever makes your character the most effective? Or do you put yourself in your character’s Dragonscale boots and do what makes sense for the role?
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 Community Contests Start Today
THQ has announced details on the first community contest in a ten-week series for its game WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010
The first community contest begins today, encouraging site members to use the game’s Create-a-Superstar Mode to construct and name their ultimate Superstars and Divas. Consumers will also submit brief written descriptions to further tell the stories behind their creations. All entries will be received via PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The entries will be judged on character design, character name and the written description. The winner will receive his or her choice of a WWE sweatshirt and WWE t-shirt from www.wweshop.com (subject to availability).
As a videogame lover and WWE fan, I encourage all of you to participate in these contests. If you happen to win with an original Superstar based on me, I’ll get you something special. The storyline can start off with something like this, “Cast off from the place he called home due to dubious circumstances, a lonely Superstar goes back to his roots to fight the battles he loves, the only way he knows how.” Ha!
Sega Confirms Yakuza 3 for March 2010
Gamers have been waiting…and waiting…and waiting to hear if Yakuza 3 is destined for a U.S. release…and Sega has finally confirmed the game for a March 2010 release. Assistant community manager Aaron Webber wrote the following on the PlayStation Blog:
After months upon months of requests, a myriad of rumors, and even full campaigns that speak to the unparalleled dedication of the fans, we can finally speak those words that all of you have been waiting anxiously to hear. So, here they are: Yakuza 3 is coming West.
I was never really into the series, but know a few people that love it. Are any of you looking forward to this game? I’m pretty much going to be ignoring every March release, except for a teeny title being released by Square Enix.
Coffee Talk #42: Real-Time Strategy Games on Consoles
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Allen Iverson starting his second life as a Sixer, scooter luggage, or Danica Patrick driving for JR Motorsports, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Real-time strategy games on consoles took a huge step in 2009. Ensemble Studios’ excellent Halo Wars
Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that purists scoffed at the notion of first-person shooters on consoles. Gamers swore that they’d never abandon the pinpoint control of a keyboard and a mouse for a gamepad. Titles like GoldenEye 007 and Halo changed all of that, making shooters arguably the most popular type of games today.
Today I wanted to see what you thought of RTS games on consoles. Do you think they’ll ever be a big deal? Do you think that Halo Wars and Brutal Legend opened the doors for future titles, similar to how GoldenEye and Halo paved the way for all the great shooters available today? Or is the genre simply too complex to be controlled with a gamepad?
World’s Smallest N64 Available on eBay — The N64Mini!
Benheck.com and eBay user “zenloc” has put together “the smallest N64 portable ever made”. It’s a pretty cool piece of kit that Nintendo 64 fans are sure to love. Check out this video posted by zenloc:
The N64Mini is available on eBay. The auction price is currently $205, but I’m sure that will skyrocket in the last 24 hours. Any of you tempted by this product?